Area flood victims may be eligible for loans, property tax relief

Eric Bonzar/EBonzar@morningjournal.com

Tonoah Beavers, foreground, a customer service representative for the U.S. Small Business Administration, helps Melody Milner of Amherst apply for a home disaster loan June 10. Milner, 50--who suffers from lupus--said she has been living in her car for the last week because mold caused by flooding has become so bad in her home.

ELYRIA — Home and business owners who had significant damage to their properties from the May 12 and 13 rains and floods, were able to apply for emergency loans starting June 10. Meanwhile, some property tax relief for owners of flood-damaged homes also may be available through the Lorain County Auditor's Office. At least 20 people came out the first day to apply for a loan to cover damages from extreme flooding to personal items being damaged, said Jennifer Peycha from the U.S. Small Business Administration. According to Peycha, the Small Business Administration will provide up to $40,000 for content damage and up to $200,000 for structure damage. A Disaster Loan Assistance Center will remain on the third floor of the Gates Building, 320 Gateway Blvd. North, Elyria. The hours are: • 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 11 to June 13 • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 14 • 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 16 Applying for disaster assistance was requested by Gov. John Kasich and available through the Small Business Administration. It provides long-term, low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and most private nonprofit organizations that had uninsured losses, according to the Lorain County Office of Emergency Management. Those who apply for a loan are asked to provide their name, address, social security number and if the building damaged was their primary residence. Once approved, the Small Business Administration will send someone out to do a damage assessment and check to see what needs fixed. The staffer will identify what needs fixed and then will calculate how much it will cost. A determination will be made on the amount of the loan based on what a homeowner or business owner is comfortable with. Eligible items include real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, and inventory and business assets. More information about the loans also can be found at www.sba.gov/disaster. Among the affected jurisdictions and county office, staff have logged close to 1,200 calls from people reporting damage because of flooding, according to county Emergency Management/Homeland Security Director Tom Kelley. Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass also has announced residents can apply for a valuation deduction for destroyed or damaged real property. The application will be Dec. 31 this year and for property damaged in the second quarter, meaning April, May or June, qualified residents can deduct 75 percent of their property taxes due in 2015. “We know this is a very difficult time for those people affected by the flood and it may not be possible to lower values in many cases,” Snodgrass said. “But, I encourage everyone who received damage to please fill out the form so we can see if there is some relief we can offer.” Applicants must submit their names, parcel numbers, street addresses, date of the damage, best estimate of the reduction in the property's value caused by the damage and other information. Forms are available at and should be returned to the Lorain County Auditor's Office on the second floor of 226 Middle Ave., Elyria, Ohio, 44025. Forms sent by mail should be addressed to, “Attention” for damaged or destroyed property. The applications are available through the county auditor's office website at: http://www.loraincounty.com/auditor/. Forms also are available at: http://bit.ly/SLoGwx.

— Morning Journal reporter Richard Payerchin contributed to this article.Editor's note: The headline on this story was edited at 2:45 p.m. June 11, 2014, to correct that the loans and tax relief were not coming from area cities.

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